


Stonks

by Lytchu



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Badass! Shinichi, Kaito is also good with children, M/M, Minor OC's for plot/case, Shinichi is somewhat good with children, Shinichi jumps off a building, Shinichi works for Division One, bullshit economy in the beginning, but that's a given, dinner party at a fancy hotel, surprise relationship at the end, title is a meme but fic is not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:13:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27784276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lytchu/pseuds/Lytchu
Summary: “Kurata Sadao, a 32 year old owner of a small startup company in medical transcription. He doesn’t have any immediate family that he lives with, and currently resides in a small apartment in Shibuya.”Shinichi looked down at the profile in his hands, eyeing the man’s profile picture for a few seconds before moving onto his descriptions. His height was a little above average, as was his weight, but judging by the profile picture, it was less due to fat and more to muscle. The man had a strong, square jaw and broad shoulders.“He’s worried about a threat to his life?” Sato asked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the edge of Shinichi’s desk.—In which Shinichi is in the middle of a somewhat case, and KID decides to show up unprompted.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Comments: 5
Kudos: 183





	Stonks

**Author's Note:**

> Canon? I have literally, never once in my life, ever met her. I don't know who she is.
> 
> —
> 
> I present to you, my attempt at an actual, somewhat plot. I just wanted to write some action after listening to so many game OSTs.
> 
> — 
> 
> Don't look at me, I don't know how companies work. Don't pay attention to the medical procedures either. Please. I googled them as best I could. No beta we just die.

Shinichi reclasped his cufflink, hearing the soft ‘click’ of metal against metal before turning his sleeve over a few times to inspect it. Once he was satisfied with how the pin flashed a bright gold against the black and white of his suit and dress shirt, he let his hands return to his pockets.

His leather shoes clicked against the marble floor as he slinked around several people. Most of them were also donned in either a fancy suit or wearing an ornate floor-length dress of some kind, with either a plate of finger foods or glass of bubbling liquid in their hands.

Corporate dinner parties were always a lively yet subdued affair, at least for most of the ones he went to. Most of the people he stepped around only spared him a passing glance, but a few stopped to nod at him with a polite smile. To that, he would return the sentiment with a polite smile and nod of his own, before walking past them to keep an eye on the client of the night.

— — —

“Kurata Sadao, a 32 year old owner of a small startup company in medical transcription. He doesn’t have any immediate family that he lives with, and currently resides in a small apartment in Shibuya.”

Shinichi looked down at the profile in his hands, eyeing the man’s profile picture for a few seconds before moving onto his descriptions. His height was a little above average, as was his weight, but judging by the profile picture, it was less due to fat and more to muscle. The man had a strong, square jaw and broad shoulders.

“He’s worried about a threat to his life?” Sato asked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the edge of Shinichi’s desk.

“He says that it’s because their company has recently broken even, and they’re slowly gaining profit. He claims that he’s already had two attempts on his life so far. One a car accident in which the wheels of a rental car were too smooth and they slipped down a steep slope, and another involving a power outage in an elevator.”

“Does he suspect anyone?” Sato asked.

Takagi nodded, flipping through the pages of his notebook as his eyes scanned over more details. “Apparently he’s only wary of three people, and he’s certain that they’re all working alone.”

— — —

Shinichi stopped once he reached the edge of the ballroom, standing in front of the large, ornate double doors that would lead out into the hall. From where he was standing, he could see the small pairs and crowds that were gathered around the room, all backdropped with an entire wall of windows directly across the doors he was standing in front of, giving the room a beautiful scenery of the city lights and stars.

His earpiece crackled to life as he stepped away from the doors and headed towards the refreshment table.

“Number One has been spotted,” Takagi said into his ear, his voice low as he relayed the information.

Shinichi slid his eyes to the right, where he saw Takagi discretely following another man in a maroon suit. When he caught Takagi’s eye as he walked past, they nodded once to each other, before Shinichi continued his way over to where the tables with tiered plates of food were organized.

— — —

“The first suspect is Hiraoka Daisuke , a pharmacist working at Stellars Pharmaceutical Company. He’s one of Kurata-san’s biggest backers, having poured about 7 million yen into the project. He has a wife and two children, and they currently reside in a luxury apartment in Minato.”

Shinichi flipped the page to Hiraoka’s profile. This man was significantly smaller, but he looked a little bit fiercer than Kurata did. His mouth was slanted down into a frown, and his eyebrows were drawn together into a small glare, but his high cheekbones and small chin softened his look quite a bit.

“That’s quite a bit of money, especially for a backer,” Sato remarked, a hint of surprise encompassing her frown.

Shinichi’s eyebrows scrunched together as he scanned the rest of the page. “Are they friends?”

Takagi hummed, flipping another page of his notebook before frowning. “I don’t think so. Kurata-san says that their relationship is more so one of business acquaintances, seeing as they met at a convention in Osaka a few years back.”

“Business acquaintances.” Shinichi mumbled. “Even with that type of money being supplied? You wouldn’t give that much money to someone you considered a ‘business acquaintance’, especially with little to no return. They don’t even work together.”

Sato looked over at the profile in Shinichi’s hands, and he leaned forward in his seat to let her have a clearer view. “His salary isn’t that high either, despite the job he has.”

“Kurata-san did say that he had given him roughly 2% of the stakes in the startup, solely because he was the largest backer,” Takagi said, bringing a hand up to his chin.

“He could be threatening Kurata-san for a higher percentage,” Sato suggested. “Did he relay any specific concerns about him?”

Takagi frowned. “No, just that their relationship has been kind of rough lately.”

Shinichi furrowed his eyebrows. “Why?”

“Hiraoka-san doesn’t really have much say in what Kurata-san does with the company, and he suspects that Hiraoka-san has been upset with the direction he’s steering his company in due to his recent ideologies.”

“Recent ideologies?”

“For stability,” Takagi says, reading out his notes, “and the ability to maintain that stability.”

— — —

Shinichi eyed the food on the stands. None of the dishes looked particularly appetizing, but he hadn’t eaten anything for dinner yet, and it probably wouldn’t do him any good if he left his stomach empty. Shinichi rolled his eyes, remembering the berating he got the _last time_ for skipping dinner.

With the reluctance of a thousand screaming children against eating anything bitter, he grabbed a plate and started browsing for anything that looked palpable.

“Megure-keibu says they’ve reached Soyin Hotel,” Sato said, her voice crackling into his ear as he reached out for a small piece of food that looked vaguely like cake, red and orange striped with a yellow base. The base looked spongey, but he couldn’t be sure what it was exactly. “They just saw Number Two enter the building, and they’re currently on standby.”

— — —

“Suspect number 2 is Reynold Clark, an American investor for the startup. He’s invested about 50 million yen into the company, with a 15% stake in equity. He’s also currently in Tokyo for a business meeting, but his connection with Kurata-san spans about a year back.”

Shinichi turned another page, coming face to face with a brown haired, square jawed man. His profile picture wasn’t a professional looking one, and most of his descriptions weren’t as detailed as Kurata’s or Hiraoka’s, but seeing as this man was fairly wealthy overseas, Shinichi didn’t really see the point in targeting the owner of a small start-up company in Japan.

But Sato was already voicing his thoughts before he could open his mouth.

“He doesn’t seem like a likely suspect. His stake over the company is by no means small, and unless Kurata-san is trying to cut that percentage down, he doesn’t really have a clear motive from a business standpoint.” Sato uncrossed her arms. “Unless it’s a personal grudge.”

“Kurata-san didn’t mention anything personal, but he did mention that he was currently negotiating the pricing of stocks with Mr. Clarke,” Takagi said, flipping through his notebook again and raking over the page. “And that the negotiation has been getting rather heated lately.”

“But I don’t think that’s enough to warrant a death threat,” Shinichi said, bringing a hand up to his chin. “Not to mention he’s in another country. Even if he were that strong headed of a person, bridging violence overseas just seems irrational.”

“He’s pretty high profile too,” Sato added.

“That’s definitely true,” Takagi nodded, before taking out a pen to scribble something down.

Sato turned to look down at Shinichi. “But it wouldn’t hurt to keep a few extra pairs of eyes on him. If Kurata-san seems wary, then we should take it into consideration.”

“I’ll add that into the report for Megure-keibu,” Shinichi said, before turning to the next page of the file in his hands.

— — —

Shinichi scrunched his nose up at the taste of the star-shaped _whatever it was_. He was right. It was spongey, almost like a cake, so the texture wasn’t too bad. But why in the world did it taste like _salty seafood_? Which chef in the building thought this monstrosity was _legal_.

He quickly swallowed it down before the thought of spitting it out in front of a sophisticated crowd of people entertained his mind, and he quickly dropped his plate onto the table to run over to where the drinks were placed, desperate to get a hold of anything to chase the taste away.

He grabbed a hold of the closest glass he could find, chugging the cup of bubbling liquid as fast as he could. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand when the glass was drained to the last drop, and he stared at the empty wine-glass he was holding with trepidation. It tasted like sparkling cider, very sweet, but he hoped there wasn’t any alcohol in it.

“Not a fan?”

He turned his head at the voice, and came face to face with a woman armed with a warm smile. She was adorned in a deep purple, floor length dress, and her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun with her bangs framing her face to make her look younger. She had her arm looped through another man’s beside her, someone Shinichi guessed to be her husband. But the man wasn’t who Shinichi was focused on.

Shinichi smiled at the woman. “As long as it doesn’t have any alcohol in it, I think it’s fine.”

The woman chuckled, a soft and bright sound that traveled to his ears. “You’re in luck then.”

Shinichi brought a hand up to his neck, rubbing it in a sheepish manner. “I’m glad.”

He’d just found his own target for the night.

— — —

“Suspect number three is Morikawa Asami. She doesn’t really have any real connection to Kurata-san other than the fact that she’s Morikawa Tadashi’s wife, Kurata-san’s business partner. They have a daughter, and they also live in an apartment in Shibuya.”

“Why his wife?” Sato asked. “If they have no connection?”

“Kurata-san and Morikawa Tadashi don’t have equal hold over the company, Kurata’s stakes are much higher, and he suspects that she isn’t too happy about that. Especially since their daughter was caught in an accident the previous year, and they need the money for surgery and physical therapy.”

“Surgery?”

Takagi nodded with a grim frown. “It’s really horrible. Her vocal chords were heavily damaged, and she sustained major injuries to her left leg. Apparently she can walk fine now, but she has trouble with phantom pains from time to time.”

“How old is she?” Shinichi asked.

“Eight years old.”

Sato frowned. “That really is terrible.”

Shinichi looked down at the profile in his hands. The woman’s face was extremely soft looking, with a rounded chin and kind eyes. She had an elegant look to her, her features serene as she smiled softly at the camera.

Tearing his eyes away from her profile picture, his eyes scanned over her descriptions. “They’re in debt?”

Takagi nodded. “Not too heavily. They recently paid off another loan, but even with the start up company finally starting to make a profit, it won’t be enough to pay the loans off completely anytime soon.”

Shinichi looked up. “What about Morikawa Tadashi?”

Takagi shook his head. “Kurata-san didn’t have much to say about him, other than the fact that he was an extremely amiable man who he’s known since university. He highly doubted that he could ever be a suspect.”

“Since university?” Shinichi asked.

“Yup,” Takagi nodded, “and they’ve been business partners ever since.”

“Did he have any particular edge when he spoke about any of them?” Sato asked, “Or is he equally wary of all of them.”

Takagi seemed to contemplate the question for a minute, before nodding firmly. “When I spoke about the suspects to Kurata-san, he seemed most nervous about Morikawa-san. One way or another, she seems to put him the most at unease.”

Sato nodded, and she pushed herself off the edge of Shinichi’s desk. Shinichi watched her as she went, flipping the pages back before closing the manila folder in his hands. “Alright, we can debrief more about this tomorrow with Megure-keibu. He should be back from his case by then.”

“And he’s certain that either of them will strike at the dinner party they’re hosting a couple weeks from now?” Shinichi asked, placing the folder on his desk before getting up to stretch.

Takagi nodded.

— — —

“Kudou Shinichi, Assistant Detective,” Shinichi said, bowing to them before straightening back up to smile politely. The man nodded back at him, holding out his hand for Shinichi to shake.

“Morikawa Tadashi, and this is my wife, Morikawa Asami.” The man smiled. “Feel free to call me by my first name, I don’t mind. And it might get a little bit confusing if you refer to us both by our surnames.”

“Of course, Tadashi-san,” Shinichi smiled, before spying a head pop out from behind Morikawa’s legs. He blinked, and leaned his body a little to the right, and the head retreated from his view.

He heard a faint giggle above him, and he smiled sheepishly up at Morikawa, who only regarded him with a warm smile. “I’m sorry, she’s just a little shy.” She turned around to address the child behind her. “Emiko-chan, come wave hello.”

Tadashi leaned forward. “She’s not able to speak, so please don’t mind if she doesn’t say anything,” he whispered. And Shinichi nodded understandably, as if he didn’t know that little fact already.

The little girl’s head peeked out from behind her mother’s legs again, and Shinichi squatted down so that they were eye level. He tilted his head and smiled softly.

“Emiko-chan? My name is Kudou Shinichi, it’s nice to meet you.” He said, taking care to make his voice softer than normal, as to not scare her.

The little girl only blinked at him, before nodding slowly and raising a tiny hand to wave briefly at him, and then she was pulling away to hide behind her mother’s legs again.

Shinichi chuckled, before raising himself back up to full height.

“So what brings a detective to a party like this?” Tadashi asked, and Shinichi slid his eyes over to Morikawa briefly, before flicking his eyes back over to Tadashi. If Morikawa was alarmed by his appearance, or even the slightest bit concerned, she didn’t show it. She was only smiling at the child behind her, murmuring soft words and giggles.

“Nothing too big,” Shinichi said, already having crafted a story beforehand. “One of my friends is a backer, so I just accompanied her here.”

Tadashi perked up. “Oh! Do you know where she is? I would like to personally thank her, if I haven’t done so already.”

Shinichi scanned the room, before turning towards Tadashi with a strained smile. “I actually don’t know. She lets herself loose at parties, and I usually won’t be able to find her until it's ended.”

Tadashi’s shoulders deflated, but he nodded with a smile. “Then perhaps I’ll get the chance to meet her later. Do you think-”

“Tadashi-kun?” A man suddenly asked, pushing his way through the crowd of people to walk over to where they were standing, “Tadashi-kun! It’s me! I haven’t been able to get a hold of you for weeks!”

“Ah, Hideo-san!” Tadashi smiled, before turning towards the three of them with a sheepish smile. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back!”

Morikawa nodded and let go of her husband’s arm, and they watched as Tadashi bounded over to where the man stood. Morikawa chuckled, and turned back towards Shinichi with a small smile.

“I’m sorry Kudou-kun, you’re free to go if you’d like. I don’t think a detective would have any interest in talking about business. I’ll make up an excuse for you for Tadashi,” Morikawa said.

Shinichi smiled gratefully, but he shook his head. “I don’t think it would be polite to just leave you, I can keep you company until Tadashi-san returns.”

Morikawa smiled and clapped her hands delightfully. “You really are too kind.”

Shinichi chuckled bashfully, but he really couldn’t understand why a woman who was planning on committing a crime would be so willing to stay within his general vicinity, especially with him being a detective, rather than just a regular officer.

“So how are you enjoying the party Kudou-kun? I planned most of it myself,” Morikawa said, leaning forward slightly with a hint of pride leaking into her voice. Shinichi watched as her eyes sparkled, a childish lilt in her features shining through her elegant mask.

Honestly, Shinichi didn’t really have an opinion on the party, since he was too busy paying attention to the aspects that made up the party itself, rather than the event as a whole. But he liked the scenery that the wall windows provided, so he supposed he could just base his opinion on that. He probably shouldn’t mention his misgivings about the food though.

“It’s good,” he said, “the scenery makes a very nice backdrop.”

Morikawa clapped her hands again with a pleased smile. “That was probably my favorite part of the planning. It was either here, or an outdoor garden. In the end I decided on the hotel, and I’m glad I did.”

Shinichi smiled, and was about to open his mouth to respond when he felt a small tug at the leg of his pants. He looked down to see Emiko blinking up at him, and her cheeks reddened when he met her eyes, but she kept her eyes resolutely trained on his.

Shinichi knelt back down, and she stepped back a bit to make room for him.

“What is it Emiko-chan?” Shinichi asked.

Emiko looked down and grabbed the hem of her knee-length dress, before she lifted her head again and held a hand out towards him, a shy and pleading look on her face. Shinichi raised an eyebrow at her hand, before slowly bringing his own hand up to grasp it, engulfing hers entirely.

Emiko smiled, something small and a little bit grateful, before shaking his hand up and down gently. Shinichi chuckled, and shook her hand with a little bit more vigor, before they let go. Once they did, Emiko turned back towards her mother and pointed at Tadashi.

Morikawa smiled softly and nodded, watching as Emiko ran off to where her father stood, still in deep conversation with the man from earlier.

Shinichi stood back up and dusted off his knees, even though they hadn’t even touched the floor.

“I feel in debt to her,” Morikawa said suddenly, and Shinichi turned back towards her. He blinked, trailing his eyes over the deep stress lines that marred her face. Lines that were invisible just a minute ago, now accompanied by the shadows under eyes. Her shoulders were slightly slumped, and she suddenly seemed several years older.

Shinichi tucked his hands into his pocket, and stayed silent as a cue for her to continue.

“The accident was my fault. I couldn’t save her in time,” Morikawa said, her misty eyes still trained on where Emiko stood behind Tadashi, grasping at her father’s pants legs. “The building was collapsing, and I couldn’t get her out in time.”

Shinichi’s eyes softened. “That’s not your fault.”

Morikawa turned to smile weakly at him. “I’m thinking about taking another job.”

Shinichi leaned forward just the slightest bit, careful to take in her next words. “Another job?”

“Yes,” Morikawa nodded. “A nurse at a clinic. It works long hours, and I wouldn't be able to see them as often, but the extra money would benefit us. It would pay for Emiko’s bills.”

Shinichi frowned, and Morikawa must’ve sensed the sudden drop in mood because she suddenly smiled at him, laughing away the heavy atmosphere from just a moment ago.

“Ah but don’t tell Tadashi! He doesn’t know yet, but I don’t think he’d be in a position to reject once I get the job,” Morikawa grinned, bringing her hands up to cup her cheeks.

“Don’t worry.” Shinichi gave her a soft smile. “Take care of yourself Morikawa-san.”

Morikawa’s overly bright smile dimmed into something more genuine, and she regarded him with sincere but tired eyes. “Thank you. I should,” Morikawa wiped at her eyes with a small chuckle, “I should go use the restroom for a bit. I’m sorry to leave you Kudou-kun.”

Shinichi shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I should be looking for my friend anyways.”

Morikawa nodded. “I’ll go tell Tadashi. Thank you for coming, I hope to see you around in the future.”

Morikawa bowed before waving and walking away, wiping away at her eyes as she walked towards where her husband stood. He watched as she whispered something into his ear, reached down to ruffle her daughter’s hair the slightest bit, before making her to the double doors.

Shinichi’s eyes trailed after her as she slipped through the doors, his frown never slipping off his face. As far as suspicious behavior went, she didn’t display any, unless she was an exceptional actor. But Shinichi could tell that she hadn’t been lying about anything she had said. If she had been after Kurata’s life, and hoping that the transfer of holds over the company would be enough to pay for her daughter’s medical bills, then she wouldn’t even need to take the extra shifts to pay for the bills.

Kurata may be the most wary of her, but Shinichi couldn’t find a single reason as to why she would even be a suspect. She hasn’t even so much as looked in Kurata’s direction during the time they’d spent together, not even as she was leaving the room.

Shinichi raked his eyes over the room, before they landed on the man in question. Kurata was huddled in a small group, seemingly sharing small talk with his guests, before they all burst out into a fit of small chuckles and giggles, presumably over something he had said.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes. _What was he playing at?_

It was one thing to suspect someone. It was another to suspect and insist that they were working alone. Moreover, when Shinichi had looked over the notes and files a second time, both of the attempts on his life seemed extremely circumstantial. Neither of them held the promise of intentional sabotage.

Shinichi was about to make his way over to Kurata when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes land on him, prickling at the back of his neck. He widened his eyes briefly, before schooling his expression into something more impassive. He scanned the ballroom again, before his eyes landed on the double doors.

He needed to leave.

He started making his way towards the double doors at a leisurely place, careful not to draw any attention towards himself as he wound his way through the crowds of bodies, softening his steps enough that the loud clicks of his shoes tapping against marble lowered into soft taps.

His earpiece crackled to life again just as he neared the doors, and he turned around the slightest bit in Kurata’s general direction.

“Nothing seems to be suspicious,” Takagi said, his voice the slightest bit tentative.

Shinichi turned back towards the doors, pushing one open as he turned on his comms. “Me too. I think something’s off.”

Takagi murmured in agreement, and Shinichi turned his comms back off before slipping out into the hall. The door slid shut behind him as he looked down one end of the hall, and then the other, The right end of the hall led towards the storage rooms and elevators, while the left led towards a few of the junior suites and public restrooms.

He turned towards the left, figuring he could lure his potential stalker out into the open, while also giving himself the chance to run into Morikawa again.

He tilted his head up the slightest bit, eyeing a hidden camera angled at the double doors as he walked past, before looking down the hall. There were at least two more cameras ahead, each of them angled at the doors leading into the junior suites, but the strip of hallway before the corner and the corner itself would be left bare, wholly unattended.

He heard the faint clicking of a door behind him, but he couldn’t hear any other sound beyond that, so he just stuffed his hands into his pockets and continued walking.

Since the person following him was taking such careful steps to remain unnoticed, they would either try to catch him around the corner, or wait until he entered the restrooms. Shinichi clenched his fists, gripping tightly at the elastic suspenders in his pants pocket, rolled neatly into a small coil.

He doubted he could do anything major with the suspenders, but if worse came to worse, he could tie his stalker up and leave them to the officers on the ground floor. It would probably take the officers a while to get up here, seeing as they were on the 35th floor, but it would be safer for him to keep anyone targeting him apprehended.

Shinichi angled his eyes to his side as he passed by the second junior suite, noting the silent footsteps that the other person followed him with. Not completely silent, but quiet enough that the average ear wouldn’t be able to pick it up. He straightened his gaze forward, significantly slowing his steps to allow the other a chance to catch up.

They were the only two in the hall, and the nearest security camera had just flitted out of their general recording range. If his stalker wanted to get him, now would be the perfect opportunity.

Shinichi tensed his shoulders subtly, his fingers clutching at the suspenders he had started untangling during his walk. One step, Two steps. Three steps. Every single step he took became considerably shorter and shorter, until the next step he took was merely just a slight shuffle of his feet.

But that didn’t matter, because his stalker had finally caught up. Shinichi felt a brief rush of blood roar past his ears, feeling just the slightest flutter of fingers against his shoulder before he was whirling around and swinging his arm out, clamping a hand around the other person’s wrist and slamming them against the wall with his forearm pressed against their neck.

The person cried out, whether in pain or surprise he didn’t know, and whined, “That hurt, tantei-kun.”

“Wha-,” he started, widening his eyes when he finally registered who the person standing in front of him was. Shinichi slowly lowered his arm, taking a step back and letting go of the wrist as the other's lips quirked. “What are you doing here? K-”

The other person immediately clamped a hand over his mouth and brought a finger up to their lips, lips that were stretched into a seemingly permanent smirk. “Don’t speak so frivolously tantei-kun. You don’t know who might be listening.”

Shinichi lowered his eyes to the other’s lips, before looking back up and pulling KID’s hand away from his mouth. He glared at him. “My question still stands. What are you doing here?”

 _With such a terrible disguise_ , Shinichi wanted to add on, taking in the black masquerade mask placed over KID’s eyes. The dark navy suit suited him, in Shinichi’s opinion, a beautiful juxtaposition to his usual white. Shinichi just didn’t understand why he was acting so casual about it.

KID only shrugged, leaning back to stuff his hands into his pants pockets as he smiled at him. Still that ever present cross between an enigmatic and down-right smug of a smile. The sight never failed to light something within the pit of Shinichi’s stomach, a flame that roared with both annoyance and excitement.

“Do you have something to do here?” Shinichi asked, raising an eyebrow as he took a step back, before returning KID’s smirk with one of his own. “Or are you just here for me to catch you.”

KID furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at him, before shrugging again and taking a step forward. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind but,” KID started, learning forward close enough to barely brush his nose against Shinichi’s with a smile., “I suppose I wouldn’t mind.”

Shinichi pulled away and frowned at him. “I was joking. Besides, I’m working a case right now, I can’t.”

KID only grinned at him. “I know! That’s why I’m here.”

Shinichi shot him an unimpressed look. “You’re here because I’m working,” he said flatly, toeing the line between a question and an accusation.

KID nodded. “Yup!”

Shinichi sighed. “You really shouldn’t be here. How’d you even get in?”

KID chuckled lightly, raising his hands and wiggling his fingers lightly. “When you have magic fingers, you can get in anywhere.”

Shinichi sighed again, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Go home.”

“But it’s lonely at home,” KID whined.

“Well you can’t stay here,” Shinichi argued, “if something happens, you could become a suspect.”

“But I can’t be suspicious if I stay with you all night. You’d be my witness.”

Shinichi’s eyebrow twitched. “That’s not the point.”

“So you admit it, you would testify for me. That’s so sweet of you tantei-kun!~”

Shinichi’s eyebrow twitched again. “My words just go in one ear and out the other with you, doesn’t it.”

KID blinked at him, before bringing a hand up to his chin in a contemplative manner. “It’s more like selective hearing, if I’m being honest.”

Shinichi reached out and pinched KID’s cheek. Hard. KID wailed out in pain, squeezing his eyes shut as he brought his hands up to grasp at Shinichi’s wrist.

“That huwrts!” KID cried, but he made no move to remove Shinichi’s hand from his face.

Shinichi pursed his lips for a moment, before pulling at the cheek, eliciting an even louder cry of pain from the phantom thief. Once he was satisfied, he let go, watching as KID cradled his cheek with faux tears in his eyes.

“Go home,” Shinichi said, voice a little bit softer this time.

KID only frowned at him. “I really can’t. I have something to do here, and I’m afraid I can’t leave until I accomplish it.”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at him. “Why didn’t you just say that the first time I asked?”

“Not everyone is as straight and forward to the point like you are, tantei-kun.”

“It would be better if they were,” Shinichi muttered. His eyes followed KID when he walked past him and rounded the corner. “Where are you going now?”

“The restroom, my cheek hurts,” KID said, waving a hand at him as he turned his head back the slightest bit.

Shinichi trailed after him, falling into step beside the other as he examined the red patch of skin on KID’s face. “I couldn’t have pinched you that hard, could I?”

KID rolled his eyes at him. “You don’t exactly hold back whenever you do stuff, and that includes pinching my face apparently.”

Shinichi blinked at him. “Seriously?”

“Yes seriously,” KID said as they stopped in front of the restroom. “I’ll be right back. Wait for me.”

“Why would I-,” Shinichi started, but KID had already disappeared into the opening of the restrooms, cutting off his response.

He sighed and crossed his arms, turning around to lean against the wall as he tilted his head back. He hummed, and figured that he should sign in with either Sato or Takagi to check in on them, just to see how things were going.

He turned on his comms. “Sato-keiji?”

Sato hummed in response, and he was about to ask how Megure-keibu was doing when he heard a faint pair of clicks, and he looked up to see a woman rushing out of the restroom with a panicked look on her face.

“Help!” She cried when she caught Shinichi’s eye, and Shinichi immediately straightened up.

“Kudou-kun? What happened?” Sato’s concerned voice flitted over from his earpiece. He was about to ask the woman himself, when she answered for him in a rush, reaching over to tug at his sleeve.

“There’s someone unconscious in the ladies’ restroom!”

Shinichi immediately pushed past the woman, hearing something about Sato being ‘on her way’, before rushing inside. His eyes landed on someone familiar, feeling his stomach drop as he spied a woman lying on her back atop the marble tiles. The woman from before followed after him as he knelt down beside Morikawa, taking in her still figure. After a few seconds of deliberation, he pressed her forehead back gently to part her mouth slightly, using his other hand to lift her chin up. He leaned in, close enough to feel and hear the faint puffs of air coming from her mouth and nostrils.

Shinichi leaned back, feeling something loosen in his stomach. She was still breathing at an even pace, even though it was more subdued than normal. His eyes trailed over her face, before landing on some red scratches and patches of skin on the sides of her neck.

His eyes twitched, and he looked over at the woman hovering beside him. She was staring down at Morikawa with a worried expression, her hands gripping tightly at the silver clutch in her hands. Her fingers were thin, and her nails were long and pointed at the ends, perfectly manicured. Her dress was also a little ruffled near her stomach and chest area, whereas everywhere else provided a smooth expanse of fabric. A faint sign of struggle.

She seemed to have taken a while before coming out of the restroom to find help too, even though Morikawa was lying smack dab in the middle of the entryway.

He turned his eyes back towards Morikawa, and trailed his eyes down her arms. The sleeves of her dress reached her elbow, and when he pushed up the sleeve of her left arm up to her shoulder, he found a small puncture wound, a dry speck of blood still clinging to it.

The woman tensed beside him. She was a terrible actor.

“Kudou-kun!”

Shinichi looked up, watching as Sato ran over and kneeled down across from him.

“What happened?” Sato asked frantically, quickly looking over Morikawa from head to toe.

“She was choked and injected with a drug to keep her unconscious,” Shinichi explained as he stood up. “I’m sure if you look around, you’ll find the syringe somewhere, and the culprit will be close by.”

Shinichi flicked his eyes over to the woman who was still hovering behind him, before meeting Sato’s eyes again. Her face twitched in understanding, and her gaze hardened before returning to the woman lying on the floor.

“Call the paramedics, and stay with her until they arrive,” Shinichi ordered, rushing towards the restroom entrance as he checked to see if his comms were still on. “I’ll leave it to you!”

He cursed under his breath as he exited the restroom and ran around the corner, rushing back towards the ballroom. If Morikawa was taken out this early, then he didn’t know how much safer the others were. He didn’t even know if the others would be touched at all, but he needed to get back to the main party.

“Takagi-san!”

There was a brief second of reprieve before Takagi answered him with a crackle.

“What’s wrong?” He sounded alarmed.

“Did anything happen with Hiraoka-san?”

“No, absolutely nothing. Why? What happened?”

“What about Kurata-san? Tadashi-san?”

“Kurata-san?”

Shinichi quickened his pace as he neared the ballroom doors, stopping in front of them with heavy breaths while he waited for Takagi to answer. When the seconds stretched on too long, he reached out towards the handles, only for Takagi’s voice to stop him.

“He’s not here,” Takagi breathed, and it sounded as if he had been running around. “Tadashi-san isn’t around either.”

Shinichi cursed and looked down the hall, where the elevators and storage rooms were stationed.

“Should I go look for him?”

“No, stay in the ballroom,” Shinichi commanded, taking off in the direction of the storage rooms. If he remembered the floor plans correctly, then some of the storage rooms were two-way rooms and linked up with the ballroom via a single hallway through the side, and it wouldn’t be hard to slip in and out of them unnoticed. “But keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. Hiraoka-san is most likely innocent.”

“Ah,” Takagi said, and Shinichi could tell there was a question at the edge of his tongue, but he only continued with a simple ‘understood’.

Shinichi threw open the closest storage room door he could get his hands on, only to close it when he was met with a dark and empty room, forcibly moving onto the next one. He tried two more, having to pick the lock on the second one with a lockpick he had kept in his blazer, before arriving at the fourth and last one down the line.

He started picking at the lock, jumping slightly when he heard a faint thud and muffled cry of pain from the other side. He picked at the lock with a renewed vigor, and threw open the door only to see the tail end of another man disappearing through the opposite door across the room, pouring a faint beam of light in.

Shinichi directed his eyes down, and quickly slid down beside a man whimpering on the floor, clutching at his leg in an upright position.

“Tadashi-san! Are you alright?” Shinichi asked, taking in the bloody nose and ruffled clothing, before his eyes latched onto the knife protruding from the meat of his thigh.

“I’m fine, just the leg,” Tadashi breathed, but Shinichi could tell he was struggling. At least the knife wasn’t buried in a vital area, and the bleeding wasn’t profuse. At worst, it had just sliced through several layers of muscle.

“Takagi-keiji, Moriakwa has been injured in the fourth storage room down the hall,” Shinichi siad, pushing himself up. “It’s a stab wound to the right leg, but it’s not lodged in anywhere vital. Sato-san’s already called the paramedics, but you should divert some here once they arrive.”

Once he heard an affirmative from Takagi, Shinichi turned off his comms and turned back towards Tadashi-san, who was breathing heavily through his mouth. “I’m going ahead, help will be here soon.”

But before he could take a single step, Tadashi shot his hand out and grasped at his hand, clenching his fingers tightly as he pulled himself up by the slightly millimeter. Shinichi immediately saved him the trouble and knelt down beside him, gently pushing him back down to lay on the floor.

“Please,” Tadashi gasped. “He has my daughter. You have to-you have to get her back.”

Shinichi scrunched his eyebrows, staring into Tadashi's desperate eyes before he nodded with resolution. “Leave it to me.”

The man let go of his hand, albeit reluctantly, and Shinichi immediately sprinted out the door from which he came. As he ran, he pulled out the suspenders that were stuffed in his pocket and looped it around his left hand and wrist.

He eyed the elevator as he ran past, watching as one of the digital numbers above the doors climbed up to 40 and counting, while the other counted down from 30. He gritted his teeth, sprinting past the golden doors and towards the door leading to the stairway at the end of the hall. He was currently on the 35th floor, and while it may take a while to climb up several flights of stairs, the highest floor was only on the 42nd, and he would bet all of his yen that that’s most likely where the apprehender would take Tadashi’s daughter.

They wouldn’t risk going down, where an entire squad of police officers would be waiting for them, so the only other way was up. Besides, people always went up the stairs when trying to escape, as far as he’d seen.

Shinichi threw open the stairway door and immediately began his climb, skipping over every other step as he threw himself up each flight. His breaths came out in ragged pants by the time he reached the 39th floor, but that was less due to a lack of stamina, and more so the violent manner in which he was climbing up each flight, desperate to reach the roof in time.

By the time he reached the 42nd floor and was pulling out the gun that was hidden away in his blazer, his heartbeat was pounding against his eardrums in rapid staccatos, overpowering any other sound. He most likely wouldn’t use it, since he still preferred his tranquilizer watch over anything else, but it was useful as a scare tactic.

He threw open the door with probably more force than necessary, aiming his gun in a random direction as he scanned his eyes over the roof. His eyes stopped when they made contact with a man holding a girl by the scruff of her dress, a knife poised over her throat.

Shinichi tightened his grip on the handle of his gun, the rough material of his suspenders chafing against his skin as he aimed it just a little lower, so it aligned with the man’s shoulder.

“Kurata Sadao,” Shinichi said, hardening his gaze as he flicked his eyes down to take in the condition of the girl he held captive.

Emiko was trembling, hands gripping tightly at the fabric over her chest. And when Shinichi angled his eyes down to make brief eye contact with her, he found her staring back at him with quivering eyes, tears leaking down her cheeks as she sniffed.

She opened his mouth to mouth something at him, but decided against it when Kurata yanked her back the slightest bit, bringing her closer to his legs.

“Morikawa Tadashi’s business partner, and direct CEO,” Shinichi said, his voice clipped as he loosened and tightened the grip on his gun. . He took a small step forward, and Kurata brought the knife closer to Emiko’s throat. Her trembling increased, and Shinichi gritted his teeth.

“Stay where you are!” Kurata yelled, shuffling back.

“Those three never had a plot against a life, did they? You were the one with a vendetta, and the only person you held one against was Morikawa Tadashi.” Shinichi remembered, just before he had left the ballroom, the look of utter vindication that Kurata eyed Tadashi with. “The other two were innocent, and you dragged their names through the mud just to cover up your schemes.”

Kurata doesn’t say anything. He only keeps shuffling towards the edge of the roof, where certain death by height was barred off by a single rail.

“You were afraid,” Shinichi continued, trying to keep his voice calm, in case it would help Emiko feel a little more secure. He needed her to believe that he would rescue her, which he definitely would, but she had to remain calm, or she’d accidentally hurt herself.

But his statement seemed to have set Kurata off, as he’d suddenly taken a step forward to glare maniacally at him. “You don’t know anything! Not about this company, not about me, and definitely not about Tadashi!”

Shinichi watched as Kurata spat out the words. He needed to keep him talking, to give Shinichi time to think of a plan. “I know enough. You were afraid that he would aspire to take your position one day. And he would take it from you with a knife to your throat. So you decided to put one to his before he could.”

But Tadashi wasn’t that type of man. And the only reason why Kurata didn’t know that Tadashi wasn’t that type of man was because he didn't trust anyone around him. Kurata eyed everyone around him as though they were hungry sharks. Never once did Takagi recount him calling Tadashi or Hiraoka or Clarke as a ‘friend’, merely ‘business partners’ or ‘business acquaintances’. Always business, even though the other three had all but dedicated their lives and finances and trust to him.

“Don’t talk to me like you understand,” Kurata scoffed condescendingly.

“You really have no trust in him. If that’s the case, why even work with him?”

“Because he makes for a good business partner,” Kurata said haughtily, “but now that we’re on the rise, I can no longer trust him.”

And to that, Shinichi really had nothing to say. Saying otherwise, would provoke Kurata further, and the edge of the knife was sailing dangerously close to Emiko’s skin. He wouldn’t agree with Kurata in any circumstance, and seeing as Kurata was the untrusting type of man, placating him would get them nowhere either.

So he settled for changing the subject. “You should let her go. She’s just a child, and she’s practically defenseless.”

“Yes yes, she is, isn’t she?” Kurata turned his maniac eyes down to gaze at her, and Shinichi felt his blood run cold. “But she’s a witness. And so are you. And so is Tadashi.”

Kurata dropped the knife and scooped Emiko up from under her armpits, ignoring her struggles as she kicked her legs out.

“Once I take care of you-”

Shinichi lowered his gun. “What are yo-”

Kurata turned towards him with a psychotic grin, and Shinichi was already throwing away his gun and rushing towards him, the metal clacking of the gun against concrete behind him lost to his ears as Kurata threw Emiko over the rail, with Shinichi diving after her.

Shinichi grabbed at her arm, grasping onto it tightly when he managed to catch her in time. But he was already teetering over the edge. With a loud curse, he looped the suspenders that had been clenched around his palm between the bar of the rails, before a hand gave a rough shove to his backside, and the both of them fell over the edge, plummeting towards the ground.

Shinichi gritted his teeth as the wind sliced past his face, pulling Emiko’s body against his chest with an arm encircled around her waist as he scrambled to press at the button of the suspenders in his opposite hand.

After a few unsuccessful clicks, he felt a sharp tug at his shoulder, slowing their descent significantly until they stopped altogether, banging Shinichi’s backside into one of the hotel’s windows as the suspenders straightened out.

He let out a few ragged breaths, before blowing out a sigh of relief. His senses finally caught up to him when he felt a pair of arms circled tightly around his neck. Emiko was trembling against him, with her face buried deeply into his collar. He could also hear sirens below them, and when he tilted his head down a little bit to his left, he could see two ambulances parked down the street. The paramedics were probably already inside the building, and that fact loosened another knot in Shinichi’s stomach.

He tilted his head back up, eyeing the long expanse of suspenders holding them up. His shoulders ached with the pull, but he looped the elastic material around his hand twice to secure himself a little better before looking back down, quickly spying the awning of the hotel entrance below his dangling feet.

Shinichi ground his teeth together. The button of the suspenders were working, that much was certain, but seeing how far they had fallen, the suspenders had probably already reached their limit. They still had about 7-8 meters to go, judging from the height they were at.

Not to mention that they probably wouldn’t have enough time to wait around for someone to get them. Shinichi tilted his head back up. Kurata was still on the roof, and while the suspenders were strong on their own, with a little determination and a fairly sharp object—both of which Kurata had—the suspenders wouldn’t be able to hold.

And as if Kurata had heard his thoughts, Shinichi felt something snap in his hand, and suddenly they were accelerating downwards again. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he wrapped his free around Emiko's head and tried his best to turn his body around as they fell straight into the awning.

He cried out in pain as they ripped through the fabric and crashed into a luggage cart, eliciting cries of alarm as suitcases were either scattered or crushed under his weight. He could hear footsteps circling them as he arched his back the slightest bit, feeling another stab of pain shoot up his spine. He barely missed the loud ‘Freeze!’ that caught his ear.

The girl in his arms sniffled, burying her face further into his neck as he sluggishly flipped them over and off the suitcases. He braced his knees and a hand on the floor before he could crush her, keeping his uninjured arm wound tightly around her body as he tried to keep himself up.

His breathing was ragged, but he pushed through the delirium that the pain brought him to plant his right foot on the ground, planning to use that momentum to push himself up. But before he could even attempt to get up, he heard a clicking noise and looked up, feeling the cold barrel of a pistol pressed against his forehead as he stared wide-eyed at the man in front of him.

This was a man he didn’t explicitly know, but recognized as the person Tadashi had greeted with ‘Hideo-san’ earlier at the party. Shinichi’s heart twisted, and he brought his hand up to cradle the back of Emiko’s head when he felt her stirring from where she had buried her face.

“No sudden moves!” Someone yelled, and Shinichi realized that it was Inspector Sato, positioned directly behind Hideo with a gun pointed presumably at his back.

“Sato-san?” Shinichi whispered, before he looked around to survey his surroundings. There were two other men to the left and right of him, each cornered with their own officer behind them, and Shinichi could feel the presence of at least two more behind him.

He was surrounded by people who were equally surrounded. He almost wanted to laugh. But the police force was at a disadvantage, because they valued a human life more than Hideo and Kurata probably did, judging by how ruthlessly Kurata had thrown Emiko off the roof.

Shinichi breathed out, and leaned back a little on his heels. Hideo’s eyes sharpened at the movement, and the grip on his gun tightened. Honestly, how these people kept procuring handguns, in a country that made it nearly impossible to get their hands on one at all, will never cease to astound him.

Shinichi breathed in, and hunched his body slightly lower over Emiko’s. The other officers were probably past the wavering point by now, desperate to lower their guns, but Sato would probably hold on for several more seconds. At this range, he wouldn’t be able to successfully dodge the bullet, but he could fall, and Hideo wouldn’t have enough time to re-position his gun before Sato lashed out at him. At worst, Hideo would probably hit the back of his calf.

As for the others, judging by how sloppy their hand work was on their guns, they weren’t experienced shooters. Probably just people that Kurata bribed with the promise of money. He could fall, and then immediately push himself off the side. He had the leg strength for it. They wouldn’t be able to catch him, and if they did, the probability of hitting anywhere vital was low, unless they were extremely lucky.

But that was just a risk he would have to take. As long as he could protect Emiko, nothing else mattered. As long as he could protect her.

Shinichi tensed his leg muscles, pressing Emiko closer to his body as he prepared to drop.

But before he could make another move, a figure dropped down in front of them, making everyone jerk back in surprise as the figure twirled a dark, makeshift cape around them. Several clinks of metal sounded as cans hit and exploded against the ground, a thick shroud of smoke enveloping them as cries of surprise and alarm sounded through Shinichi’s ears.

He felt a pair of hands grabbing at him, lifting him up and throwing him onto their back with fluid ease, before they were shifting and carrying Shinichi away.

When Shinichi opened his eyes, he found his arms wound tightly around someone’s neck. KID was carrying him on his back, with one hand braced under his right thigh and the remnants of Shinichi’s snapped suspenders wrapped around his other one, looping it through the arm he was using to hold Emiko up so he could carry them both effectively.

Shinichi breathed out a sigh, letting his forehead fall onto KID’s shoulder—the one that Emiko wasn’t resting her head on—as he chuckled breathily. “You’re here.”

KID turned his head, presumably to look down at him.

“Where are we?” Shinichi asked, feeling exhaustion settle into his bones as he dug his forehead further into KID’s shoulder. His arms no longer held enough strength to keep them clasped around KID’s neck, so he settled for keeping one slung over his shoulder while letting the other, injured arm hang limply at his side.

“Just across the street. Smoke still hasn’t cleared yet,” KID said, before cackling a bit. “Can you hear their screaming?”

Yes. Shinichi could. “Don’t antagonize my co-workers.”

“But I’m antagonizing them all equally. I think that’s pretty fair.”

Shinichi tilted his head up, squishing his cheek against KID’s shoulder as he met the other’s brilliant eyes. “You’re a menace.”

“I live to serve,” KID smirked, and Shinichi almost wanted to kiss him.

“Why are you here? The real reason.” Shinichi said instead, briefly shutting his eyes in an attempt to blink. He found that he couldn’t open them again, so he just let his head fall harder onto KID’s shoulder, feeling the toned muscle dig uncomfortably into his cheek. But he was too tired to do anything about it.

“It was getting late,” KID said simply, and Shinichi sighed.

“I told you it was a dinner party. I think the fact that I was going to be late was implied,” Shinichi said. He felt the hand that was thrown over KID’s shoulder twitch, and he peeled his eyes open.

“Ah really?” KID asked, genuinely sounding surprised, but he knew that KID was playing coy.

“Idiot,” Shinichi muttered, lolling his head back and forth across KID’s shoulder in an attempt to shake his head fondly.

KID chuckled, and Shinichi could feel the slight tremors through his ache pained body, reverberating through where his chest was pressed against KID’s back. 

“Call it an intuition then,” KID started, before shaking his head, “but with you I guess it would be more like a premonition.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Shinichi turned his head to face KID, keeping his eyes trained on the other’s neck since he couldn’t find the strength to lift his eyes just yet. “I had it all calculated.”

KID snorted. “Yeah, and I suppose your calculations would have brought you back home tomorrow with a bullet in your side.”

“It wasn’t going to be anywhere vital,” Shinichi argued. Weakly, because he could already feel the heat of KID’s glare as soon as the words left his mouth.

Shinichi didn’t know how to follow up with that, so he tilted his head forward instead, his eyes catching on the little girl nestled into KID’s chest. Her cheek was squished against KID’s collarbone, and her breathing seemed to have evened out.

“She fell asleep,” KID said softly, looking down at the child that he was supporting with one arm.

“Tonight must’ve tired her out,” Shinichi replied, equally hushed. “She’ll probably have trouble sleeping for a while.”

KID nodded, and they waited in silence as police sirens rang out across the street.

“So, you’ve shed your disguise by now, I’m assuming. What should I call you now?”

KID turned his head back towards him, and Shinichi tilted his head back to see KID staring down at him with a raised eyebrow, genuine confusion clouding his eyes.

“What do you mean ‘what do I call you now’?” KID asked. “What have you been calling me this entire time?”

“Uh,” Shinichi said, eloquently. God his eloquence. “KID?”

Kaito deadpanned at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“You told me to keep quiet in the halls! I thought you were undercover!” Shinichi cried defensively as he raised his head, before clamping his mouth shut when he saw Emiko squirming slightly in his periphery.

“As KID?” Kaito’s unimpressed look did not evaporate. “I just went to check on you, and I didn’t want anyone knowing.” And then he smiled smugly. “But if you’re so into him then maybe I _should’ve_ come as KID.”

“Shut up,” Shinichi grumbled, placing his chin back onto Kaito’s shoulder as he surveyed the scene across the street. Sato was handcuffing another one of Kurata’s men, while Takagi was walking out of the hotel with Kurata himself handcuffed in front of him. Megure-keibu had also joined the scene at one point, apparently, and Shinichi watched as he followed Sato to the police cars.

Shinichi blinked. How much did he miss in the span of five to ten minutes?

He could see Megure-keibu asking Sato something, and Sato raised her head to look around, presumably for him. He was about to tell Kaito to let him down and leave the child with him before Kaito started speaking.

“Would you,” Kaito started quietly, and Shinichi turned his head towards him quizzically. After a brief pause, Kaito shook his head, and Shinichi deadpanned at him.

“You should just say it,” Shinichi said, “or else I’m just going to pester you when we get home. Either way, you’re not getting out of it.”

Kaito chuckled again, before turning to look down at him fondly. Shinichi felt his insides twist the slightest bit, but he met Kaito’s soft gaze with his own challenging one. “Nothing gets past you huh?”

Shinichi smirked. “Definitely not.”

Kaito rolled his eyes, and looked back down at the child in his arms. “Would you,” Kaito swallowed. “Would you be willing?”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow, and was about to open his mouth to ask, ‘Willing to do what?’, when he followed Kaito’s soft and unsure gaze, pointed down at the little girl he was holding. Shinichi shut his mouth swiftly, blinking owlishly as he trailed his eyes back up to Kaito’s profile.

Shinichi opened his mouth again, then closed it, and then opened it again, blinking in rapid succession as he felt blood rushing up to his cheeks. The metal band that he kept on a necklace, worn on his person at all times and kept underneath his clothing, burned against his chest. “I-”

Kaito turned his head towards him, trapping Shinichi in his gaze as he leaned forward. Shinichi leaned back, still reeling from the fire that was setting his entire face ablaze, his mouth permanently parted in bewildered shock.

Kaito then smiled softly, and pulled back. “You don’t have to give me an answer right now. I just, want to start a family. Someday. With you.” Kaito’s smile fell as he blinked, and then tilted his head in a contemplative manner. “Though I guess it would make sense if you didn’t want to. You throw yourself into danger whenever you get the chance.”

Shinichi let out a series of disgruntled sputtering noises, feeling the blush travel down his chest as his mind raced.

Children? Of course he’d thought about it at one point, but that’s not something that’s ever been at the forefront of his mind. Sure, the passing thought comes and goes whenever he sees Kaito interacting with various kids from time to time, but he’s never _seriously_ thought about it. He just. It was just. Never brought up.

Kaito closed his eyes and hummed in a crestfallen manner, clearly ignorant to Shinichi’s failing train of thought, hurtling itself towards the end of the tracks and straight into the sea. “You do that like it’s your own personal hobby. I feel like that wouldn’t be good for our child, or me for that matter.”

“Ho-Hold on-,” Shinichi stammered, but at the sudden cry of Shinichi’s name from across the street, Kaito only popped his eyes open in alarm.

“Ah,” Kaito cried out in surprise, “I forgot that they’ll be looking for you.” Kaito slowly lowered Shinichi onto his feet, but when Shinichi found that he couldn’t keep his knees from buckling under his weight, Kaito carefully maneuvered him on to the ground and against the wall.

Shinichi’s face was still burning. “Kai-”

Kaito only shook his head and gently removed the little girl from his chest, careful in not jostling her as he placed her onto Shinichi’s lap. She slumped her head onto Shinichi’s shoulder, and Shinichi brought a hand up to her head as he secured another arm around her waist.

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?” Kaito asked, and he brushed back Shinichi’s fringe to place a chaste kiss on his forehead. Shinichi’s eyes fluttered closed on instinct, and opened them again when he felt Kaito pull away.

Shinichi looked back and forth down the street, but found that there wasn’t a single trace of Kaito left. He sighed, and turned his head back towards the girl in his arms. Emiko was cute, to say the least. She was also incredibly soft and fragile looking. Even in her sleep, her cheeks were flushed a soft red.

Shinichi ran his fingers through her hair softly, before encountering a soft knot between the strands, reminiscent of a certain someone that he slept with nightly, and was forced to untangle his fingers in order to not risk waking the child up. Shinichi’s lip quirked, brief and fleeting, before he leaned down to lean his forehead against the crown of Emiko's head softly.

She murmured quietly, curling her fingers around the lapel of his suit blazer. Shinichi breathed out a sigh, and leaned his head back against the wall. He looked up at the sky, blanketed by enough clouds and smog that he could only make out a few twinkles of light.

 _Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad_ , he thought. Maybe it could work. He, he definitely wants it to work. Maybe not anytime soon, but one day. In the somewhat near future.

A loud cry of his name brought him out of his reverie, and the child in his arms started squirming again at the loud interruption. He turned to his right to see Takagi running up to him. By the time Takagi neared him, Shinichi was gently patting Emiko's back, soothing her back into a peaceful bout of sleep.

Takagi placed his hands on his knees once he reached him, bent over and breathing heavily, but he immediately straightened up with wide eyes and clicked his mouth shut at the sight of the child in Shinichi’s arms.

“I’m so sorry!” Takagi whisper-yelled. “I didn’t realize that she was asleep!”

Shinichi shook his head. “She’s still asleep, don’t worry. What about her mother? Do you know where she is?”

Takagi nodded his head in the direction of the hotel, where he could see an ambulance parked out front.

“Tadashi-san was driven off to the hospital about 10 to 15 minutes ago to get his wound treated. But I think he’ll be alright. The wound wasn’t too bad, just a deep laceration through his thigh. I would give him a few weeks before he’s good to walk again. Morikawa-san is awake now though, but she’s a little groggy.” Takagi turned back towards Shinichi with a sheepish expression. “Should I carry her over?”

Shinichi nodded his head. “Yeah. I’m sure Morikawa-san would want to see her child safe and sound, especially with her husband being taken to the hospital. Even if she is barely lucid.”

Takagi nodded, before kneeling down beside him with a concerned expression. “What about you Kudou-kun? Do you need immediate medical treatment?”

Shinichi only shook his head. “I don’t think I’m really injured anywhere. Most of my body just aches, and I think my shoulder is a bit bruised, but other than that, I think I’m fine.”

Takagi’s frown deepened. “That doesn’t seem fine to me. Besides, I know you like to hide your injuries.” Takagi stood back up and looked over to where the ambulance was, before turning his gaze back down to Shinichi. “Can you move? If you can’t, I’ll call a nurse over.”

Shinichi furrowed his brows in contemplation, before stretching out his leg and wincing, feeling a dull ache shoot up his muscles.

“I think it’s just minor aches at this point,” Shinichi said as he looked back up, trying to wipe the wince off of his face. Takagi did not look convinced. “It’ll wear off.”

Takagi shook his head and kneeled back down. “Stay here, I’m going to-”

“Shinichi!”

Shinichi snapped his head up in synch with Takagi’s, watching as a flustered Kaito ran up to them from the opposite side of the street.

“Kuroba-kun!” Takagi exclaimed in surprise, at the same time Shinichi mumbled a faint ‘Kaito?’.

Kaito slid to his knees when he was close enough, stopping by Shinichi’s other side.

“What happened?” Kaito asked, concern absolutely flooding his voice. His eyebrows were drawn together in worry, and his shoulders were incredibly tense.

Shinichi thought he was going a little bit overboard, and that no one in their right mind would buy that type of over exaggerated performan-

“It looks terrible Kuroba-kun!” Takagi exclaimed vehemently. “You know how Kudou-kun is.”

Shinichi deadpanned. Of course.

Kaito only nodded with an understanding expression. “Of course I do. Don’t worry Takagi-san, I’ll make sure he gets treated properly.”

“Then I’ll leave him to you Kuroba-kun,” Takagi smiled gratefully.

Taking his eyes off Takagi, Kaito trained them on Shinichi’s face. “I’m going to take you to the ambulance, okay?”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at him, and Kaito’s lip twitched underneath his concerned expression. Shinichi’s eyes softened and he laughed softly.

“Sure, why not.”

Kaito smiled, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Takagi raising an inquisitive eyebrow at them, clearly missing the joke.

Shinichi turned towards Takagi. “Would you mind taking Emiko-chan? I think it would be best if you reunited her with her mother, even if she is asleep. Morikawa-san would probably be grateful.”

Takagi smiled warmly at him, and nodded.

After transferring Emiko into Takagi’s arms with little resistance (just a bit, since even in her sleep, she seemed adamant on keeping her hold on Shinichi’s blazer lapel), Takagi stood up and nodded at them.

“Kudou-kun, just send a written report down to the station whenever you’re ready. No need to come in, at least for tomorrow, I’ll let Megure-keibu know your condition,” Takagi said.

“Thanks,” Shinichi nodded, and watched as Takagi made his way down the street to the crosswalk. Shinichi quirked an amused eyebrow. Even with both ends of the street barred off and essentially having no cars passing through, he still chooses surrogate safety.

Shinichi let out a tired sigh and slumped back against the wall, feeling all his muscles loosen.

“Tired?” Kaito’s amused voice sounded from above him.

Shinichi opened his eyes, not even knowing when he had closed them. He turned his head to meet Kaito’s vibrant eyes. “You don’t even know half of it.” He rolled his shoulder experimentally, the one that had been pulled at by the suspenders, and winced at the sharp pain the motion brought him. “My shoulder’s a wreck.”

“Well,” Kaito started as he looped one arm under Shinichi's aching shoulder, using the other to pull his uninjured arm over his head. “Let’s get you treated then. I would like to go home tonight eventually, thank you very much.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arm around Kaito’s neck, and tried not to let too much of his pain bleed through as Kaito lifted him up.

“Did you have dinner yet?” Kaito asked, lowering the arm from underneath Shinichi’s injured shoulder to circle around his waist.

Shinichi blinked, and then furrowed his eyebrows as they started walking. Well, Kaito was walking. Shinichi felt like he was being half dragged. “I can’t recall.”

“You better be joking,” Kaito said, sharpening his voice into a hard edge.

Shinichi laughed nervously, pointedly looking away. “Maybe?”

Kaito shot him the most offended look, and Shinichi could already hear the scolding of his life headed his way as Kaito opened his mouth. But honestly, Shinichi thought that _he_ deserved to be offended, because Shinichi nearly just _died_ from falling off a 45 story building, and Kaito was scolding him for his eating habits?

“For the record,” Shinichi blurted, right before Kaito could emit a single sound, “I’m not opposed to it.”

Kaito tilted his head back down at him in confusion. “Opposed to what?”

Shinichi shot him the most unimpressed look, before he turned away and coughed into his shoulder. He could feel the familiar burn encroaching on his cheeks and dignity once again. “What you said earlier. With, with the girl.”

From the corner of his eye, he could spy Kaito’s eyebrows furrowing even further, before his eyes widened in understanding. Shinichi could only catch the beginning of a bashful grin on Kaito’s lips before he was looking away again, his rapidly beating heart leaping up to his throat

“Maybe,” Shinichi started quietly, “maybe not now. I don’t think I can transition into that train of thought so quickly.”

“Yeah,” Kaito chuckled, “me neither. It just sort of crossed my mind today?”

Shinichi laughed, leaning his head on Kaito’s shoulder as they stopped near the edge of the fray, where police officers were escorting men and women alike away. Probably Kurata’s associates, since he would probably loathe to call them anything more.

“I look forward to the future with you, Kudou Shinichi,” Kaito said, and Shinichi lifted his head to trace the fond smile that spread across Kaito’s lips, before lifting his eyes to meet Kaito’s.

Shinichi grinned. “Same here.”

—

Shinichi stared down at the report in his hands as he made his way towards his desk. He flipped a page over to roam over the details on the back, and was about to move on to the next page when Sato’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Kudou-kun?”

“Hm?” Shinichi looked up, stopping in front of his desk as he turned his head in Sato’s direction.

“This arrived in the mail for you this morning,” Sato said, handing him a small black card with an uneasy expression. “I uh, I looked at it. I hope you don’t mind.”

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at her, before looking down at the card in his hands. The front side was a solid black, and completely bare, so he flipped it over to see if anything was written on the back. He froze when he read the words written in familiar, white handwriting.

_I had fun the other night ;)))_   
_Let’s do it again?_

“I’m assuming this is the person who saved you the other night? The one dressed in all black? Does this person uh,” Sato began nervously, and Shinichi could feel the beginnings of a headache brewing behind his eyes, “know that you’re already promised to someone?”

Shinichi crumpled the card in his hands before throwing it into the wastebasket beside his desk. “I don’t know who this person is,” he said vehemently.

He stomped back towards his desk, praying to whatever god or deity he could think of that no one else saw the card. He could see Sato’s shoulders slumping in relief from his corner of his eye as he sat down, and he didn’t know if he should be amused or offended.

Actually, he thought as he eyed the crumpled card in his wastebasket in distaste, he was feeling a little vindictive today, so offended it is.

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise!! They're married, as married as they can be. 
> 
> — 
> 
> Kaito, walking past a window and spying Shinichi surrounded by men pointing guns at him: *spits out drink* *throws himself out the window* 
> 
> — 
> 
> I understand that this fic might have been a little confusing, and lacking a little bit in terms of direction in respect to the crime, but I hope you were able to follow through with it with the least amount of trouble. 
> 
> If you made it to the very end, thank you very much for reading!!!! If you didn't, that's definitely okay too :DD 
> 
> This was also my first time writing Sato and Takagi, and I know for a fact I didn't do them justice, but I will try my best to improve in the future! But if you have any constructive criticisms, or anything to say in general, please relay them kindly in the comments. I will gladly appreciate them. 
> 
> Have a nice day!! Thank you again for reading!


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